Aural Sculptors - The Stranglers Live 1976 to the Present


Welcome to Aural Sculptors, a blog aimed at bringing the music of The Stranglers to as wide an audience as possible. Whilst all of the various members of the band that have passed through the ranks since 1974 are accomplished studio musicians, it is on stage where the band have for me had their biggest impact.

As a collector of their live recordings for many years I want to share some of the better quality material with other fans. By selecting the higher quality recordings I hope to present The Stranglers in the best possible light for the benefit of those less familiar with their material than the hardcore fan.

Needless to say, this site will steer well clear of any officially released material. As well as live gigs, I will post demos, radio interviews and anything else that I feel may be of interest.

In addition, occasionally I will post material by other bands, related or otherwise, that mean a lot to me.

Your comments and/or contributions are most welcome. Please email me at adrianandrews@myyahoo.com.


Sunday, 22 November 2020

Cultuurcentrum Mechelen 22nd November 2007

 

So the last recording posted was an acoustic, sorry make that aquostic, gig and indeed, as alluded to, The Stranglers tried their hand at a similar approach. 2007 was a very busy year for the band with much of their energies put into promotion in Europe, of the many gigs played that year, only a handful of summer dates and the November 'Rattus Revisited' were played in the UK. As well as busy, the shows were varied with the usual electric sets in the first half of the year to the aforementioned Rattus anniversary shows in the autumn and an 'unplugged' tour of the Lowlands squeezed in on either side.

I guess the decision to play such a tour on the continent was deliberate. The laid back style of an acoustic tour tends to go down better in Europe. It would appear that the band's European fan base are more accepting of this approach than is the case in the huge halls the band play in the UK. The fact that those halls crammed with pissed people (and here I would include my good self) wanting to go mental to 'Go Buddy Go' also sits awkwardly with the acoustic set style. That said, listen carefully to this gig and it is clear that there was a travelling band of likewise pissed up Brits (who shall remain nameless) in attendance!

I did some of the dates in 2011 and I must say the shows were very enjoyable giving the band a chance to play songs that don't particularly benefit from being blasted out of an O2 PA system.

Neil Sparkes, Dave and Baz
Cultuurcentrum Mechelen 22nd November 2007

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-fNq4De6R1A

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-jNXwHLoWf3

01. Instead Of This
02. Long Black Veil
03. Dutch Moon
04. The European Female
05. Princess Of The Streets
06. Strange Little Girl
07. Always The Sun
08. In The End
09. English Towns
10. Southern Mountains
11. Golden Brown

01. Spectre Of Love
02. (Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
03. Don't Bring Harry
04. Cruel Garden
05. Never To Look Back
06. North Winds
07. I Hate You
08. Old Codger
09. Sanfte Kuss
10. Walk On By
11. No More Heroes

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